Tag Archives: beauty

A good while ago, as in last December/ January, I mentioned that I picked up some old rolls of mystery film from a garage sale. And I was super stoked to see what I might find. Well, I remembered that I never showed you all what I found! Most of them were too exposed to heat or light to be developed, but there was one roll of film from a little plastic panorama camera that was golden! Here’s a few of my favorites:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” Psalm 19: 1-3

Thoughts so lofty. Thoughts so spread. Thoughts high and low and in between. In creating things, must I be conscious and intentional in every decision? Concepts can be so complex. Do I even want to aspire to be an artist? Maybe a craftsman would be more enjoyable. Or maybe just easier.

These thoughts trail into more thoughts, continuously pondering what is beauty, what isn’t beauty. What is art, what isn’t art.

“This is a piece of cardboard.”

“No, with this fabric and this shoestring, it’s art.”

“But why?”

“Well, it’s beautiful.”

So there it is again. The question of beauty. I finished my art project between three and four o’clock this morning with no sleep. As I walked back to my dorm from the 3-D studio, a soft rain greeted my cheeks. I stumbled around for words to form into questions to ask God. “What do I need to…” No. “What’s the purpose of…” No. “Is it important to…” No. Finally I just said, “Lord here I am, as I am. I’m listening. Speak to me if you will.” Almost immediately:

“You are my beauty!”

What? No, how cliche. That’s my own thoughts thinking.

“You are my beauty!” he said. “Know and understand that.”

Choking up, letting out weak little whimpers and gasps for air. Water rolls down my cheek but I can’t tell if it’s my own tear or a raindrop from the sky. The Lord of the universe calls me his beauty. Above the trees and the mountains and the stars he calls me his own. And he calls me beautiful. Overwhelming.